Thursday, March 20, 2014

Spring Internship 2014: Week Three

We can't believe it's already week three of our spring program! We got a lot done this week. First, we started with an icebreaker where everyone was divided into groups of three and given a large piece of paper, representing a raft. Doron would give out different challenges to the teams, such as "only two feet and one hand can be on the raft." The teams used team work and problem solving skills to achieve the various commands.

After the ice breaker, we headed to the kitchen to prep the vegetable soup and corn bread muffins.

While the soup was cooking, we all worked on the farm for a bit. This week, we learned about the importance of composting: how compost is made and why we do it. Compost gives the soil nutrients and is better for the environment than throwing away food scraps. The first thing we did was skim the cover crop off the bed, so that we could use the cover crop to make compost piles. The youth were divided into two groups, and each group was assigned a leader to give out tasks for making the compost piles. Using cover crop, straw, and food scraps, we were able to make compost piles by layering them on top of each other, and adding water.

After we finished making our compost piles, Doron led a workshop called "What You Drink, What You Think: Youth $ Power." During this workshop, we filled out a survey that asked us for our opinions on food, and the affect it has on us. After we discussed our thoughts on the affect food has on our bodies, physically and mentally, we talked about the cons of processed sugar. We also looked at the ingredients and grams of sugar in some popular sugary drinks, like Arizona tea, Coke, and Rockstar. We guessed how many grams of sugar were really in these drinks; after pouring the amount of sugar in these drinks into an empty cup, seeing how much sugar was really in these drinks was a shock. Afterwards, we got to sample some healthier juices, such as sparkling apple cider and coconut juice.

We ended the day with eating the vegetable soup and corn bread muffins we prepared earlier, and saying our triumphs for the day.